Freshman Seminar

Alternative Assignment for PyCon Class

What Must you do:

First watch one of these videos.

This is a freshman seminar so we won't do anything too deep, but this
should be easy enough to follow given what we have covered so far in
class:

You have two choices of video's to watch.

You could Watch this
video from a defcon talk a couple of years ago. Defcon is a security
conference for academics and professionals in the digital security field.
There is some R-rated language in the video, so be advised to watch in the
right environment. It is from a public conference, but there is more than
a bit of rude humor in describing some digital forensics fails.

If you would rather avoid the rude humor or if the previous video makes
you uncomfortable in any way, You can watch this video entitled "Am
I being spied on?" also from a DefCon conference talk. This video is
much more sedate/straightforward and also quite relevant to the course.

Now write me a paper:

For either video, choose the best story/spy technique discussed.

If you are using the forensic fails describe the fail and why you
think it is the worst one (and not just because the presenters rated it
higher), be sure to compare it to at least 4 other cases explaining why
your choice is a worse problem that all the others.

If you are watching the spy detection video write a paper in which you
argue which spy technique discussed would be most effective against two
types of individuals,

first the most effective against a victim with a low level of
technical expertise

then the technique most effective against a victim with a high level
of technical expertise with computers and electronics.

Be sure to explain why you think each spy technique is useful against
that particular group of people referencing information from the talk
and/or your prior knowledge as needed.

The paper should be 1-2 pages of double spaced text. Of course good
grammar and good writing will be part of the grade.